Drifting
by impureevilregal
Summary: Emma tried to stop the Dark One from entering Regina, but it was too late. And now, the former evil queen has a new darkness inside of her. A new darkness that is dead set on causing havoc. And causing her to realize her true feelings about a certain blond savior.
1. Chapter 1

Regina walked down the stairs to her vault, methodically, almost mechanically. Her head held high, her legs straight. Perfect posture.

She breathed in deeply before taking the final step. The air smelled like death and peppermint. She understood the death part, that was easy, but where the hell did the peppermint come from.

She laughed. Like it mattered anyways. Because soon, it would be gone. The source of any smell, and sight, anything, would soon be gone. Last time she had cursed them to live forever in this realm, supposedly without happy endings. But the happy endings came, for everyone except her. Even Gold get's one, and he's the dark one. Or rather, he was the dark one. Now, he is stripped of all magic. Powerless. And she...Well, before she was powerful, but now... Well, now she could cast another world-destroying curse without so much as blinking.

It was simultaneously exhilarating and terrifying. The fear must be that pesky bit of humanity left within her.

She wasn't just the evil queen. No, the evil queen was nothing compared to what she was now. Nor was she just the dark one, if one could really be, _just_ the dark one. She was a twisted creature, a being that should not be. Two of the greatest evils in all the worlds, combined. With all the knowledge, all the power, and all the darkness that accompanied them. Most likely mixed with insanity.

She raised her hand above her head, and after that, muscle memory guided her fingertips. She bent her fingers slowly, savoring the sensation that followed each and every movement. She relished in the magic building up within her. So much power at her beck and call. All she had to do was command, and just like that, it bent to the will of it's dark queen. Her every wish, her every desire, was simply waiting for her to move forward and claim it.

She was the one in charge. Every other living thing was simply a scurrying little creature. A tiny little insect not worth a second glance. After all, who really needed love when you had the darkness? Or, even better, why not just have both? She could pretend to still be good for her son, and then...Well, then it would be perfect, wouldn't it?

Robin Hood would have to go. He could go rot in hell. Or rather, he would go rot in hell. He would pay for leaving her. Even if it was for a so-called noble cause, his ideals conflicted with his desire for her. Therefore he was a threat to her reign, and all threats, no matter how pretty their face was, had to be eliminated. Now that she was the dark one, her so called soul-mate wasn't worth it. He could have her sister. He could take the scraps like the animal he was. Because now, she really was more powerful. Now, she could have everything, and more.

Already, she was in control of so many lives. So many hearts, just waiting for her to call them back into active duty. And she had a plan to use each and every one of them. The town would continue to hunt evil doers, but the stream would never end. Because she had more than enough hearts to bring down the entire state of Maine. Storybrooke would be beyond easy.

So why not start now?

She opened a random box, and smiled at the sight of the heart pulsating in front of her. She saw through the eyes of a young girl, 16 at most. So young to be made a monster. What a pity. She was almost able to care.

Then, her sights landed on an even younger girl, who looked to be around 13, and a plan began to form in her mind. She couldn't wait for the deaths to begin. But not today. No, if she began so soon after her...Metamorphosis, they would know she orchestrated it. She would have to be careful, and wait until another villain came out of the woodwork. Then, her plans could begin. Then, she could have her fun.

She put the heart back in the box, taking care to change the color of the metal to gold, from the silver it had been before. She didn't want to risk forgetting which heart she was currently using, did she?

A squeak from a rat on the floor interrupts her thoughts, and with a flick of her wrist, the rat is unable to move. She grins. Seeing as the real fun would have to wait, she could still have some play time.

She presses down on the rat, her heel acting as a spike, being driven right through the rodent's skull. Within a minute, the rat is dead. She uses magic to lift it into the air, right in front of her face. She took a deep breathe, savoring in the scent of the death she had just caused. She breathed in the scent of death like she had spent her entire life choking for air. Even as the evil queen, killing had never been quite this enjoyable. It was just another threat, another tool to be utilized when necessary. But now... It was something to be enjoyed.

It must have been the dark one, now residing inside of her.

She is once again taken out of her thoughts, this time by the sound of footsteps. They're female, but definitely a bit more masculine than your typical woman's. Boots. And a clear purpose for being there. It's Emma.

Emma, who had tried to stop her from attaining this wonderful power. Emma who probably thought she was saving her. Emma, who was gifted with powerful magic.

Regina Mills would not have been able to identify the person based solely on the sound of their footsteps before they even began descending the staircase. Of course, she was no longer merely Regina Mills. Now, she was also the dark one, with all the inhuman sensing capabilities than came with it. Why...If she had known how good it felt, she would have stabbed Rumple back when she was still married.

Better late than never, she supposed.

"Hello Emma" Regina, said, her voice taking a slightly higher pitch, almost a playful tone, than she was used to. But, the dark one in her told her that this would unnerve the woman. And that would please her, very much. So, she decided to try something new.

She nearly laughed when she sensed the hairs on the woman's neck standing up straight. Good, now she was alert. Too busy looking for something wrong to pay full attention to her own actions. Just how the dark one liked it. And Regina had a feeling that fighting the dark one wouldn't be a good idea.

"Regina" Emma said, gasping a little. "You just scared the shit out of me!"

"I do have a bit of a talent for that, don't I" Regina said with a smirk. "I'd offer you something to drink, but somehow I don't think you're much in the mood."

"I'll pass" Emma replied instantly. Even if she wasn't saying it, even if she was trying to hide it, there had to be some fear in there somewhere, right? The dark one in her couldn't wait to find it.

"What a pity. Now, do you care to tell me what on earth possessed you to go into my vault? My private sanctuary? Did you really think you'd make it out alive" the dark one hissed, for that was what this was, almost completely dark one now, because even with all it's power, the dark one was too impulsive to play chess. That was it's hosts job, in it's mind.

"To see if you were okay" Emma said, stepping forward.

"Did you really think that I wouldn't be" the dark one questioned, actually curious. Was the savior really that stupid?

"No. But, it sounds better than 'Hey, I came to make sure you weren't murdering anyone' " Emma said with a shrug. "Not that I thought you'd do that. You fought your demons before, and you're going to fight this one too."

"You mean, I tried to fit your definition of perfect? Your definition of good? I'm sorry, but I don't play by those rules anymore. I have my own" Regina said, once more a perfect blend between her darker self and the Dark One. Their two voices mingling inside her mind simultaneously, though only Regina's ever spoke.

"Jesus Christ Regina. I thought we went over this. We weren't asking you to be perfect. We were asking you not to be a psychopath" Emma said, clearly in a bad mood. What a pity. She was looking forward to winding the blonde up herself.

"I am many things dear, but a psychopath is not one of them" Regina said, suddenly feeling an odd desire to let her go. She'd come back, but maybe that was a good thing. Maybe this entire conversation was a good thing, if she were to just get it to...Change a little. Just letting the blonde go would be proof that she could be 'saved. As if she really needed saving from something that made her feel so good, so...Alive.

"Tell that to your body count" Emma grumbled, shuffling from foot to foot. "Come on Regina...For Henry" she said, pleading again. Regina tilted her head curiously, and manipulated her face to pretend to have a change of heart. She found the blonde to be rather...Attractive while she was begging. Regina would definitely have to see that again, but not now, some other time perhaps.

"You're right. Henry...I nearly forgot about him completely. It's...So hard, to fight it. It's just whispering thoughts of 'kill,kill, kill' in my mind. You have to help me" Regina said, pretending to plead as well. Pretending that she wanted to fight the call of darkness. For someone who was supposed to be a hardened bailbondswoman turned small-town sheriff, she was quite easy to manipulate. It was disappointing really.

When the game was rigged in your favor, you might as well have some mild resistance. It made it that much more entertaining.

"Cut the crap Regina. I know you're in there. But that...I know you, and what you're saying, that isn't you" Emma said, even more frustration building within her.

"You're right. It isn't me. Because, my dear, it isn't just me in this little head anymore. There are two of us, spinning around, slowly driving each other mad. Well..Madder" Regina said with a grin and a cackle.

"Is that all" Emma said, suddenly acting rather bored. And every human instinct inside Regina was saying that it had to be another trap, but then the dark one inside her was saying that it wasn't. The savior was genuinely bored with her and her games.

Suddenly, they got a lot more boring for her as well.

"Because you're my son's other mother, and I know he'll never forgive me if I kill you" Regina said, making sure to add an extra dose of humanity into her words "so I'll let you leave alive. But..." at this a glint appears in her eyes. "You're mine if you come back."

"I will save you Regina" Emma said, before she walked back up the stairs, her steps even harder than before.

Once Emma could no longer hear them, Regina and the dark one laughed simultaneously. As if they could really be saved.

* * *

 **Author's Note: First off, I don't own anything. Secondly, I'm going to try my best to update regularly, but I can't promise anything, and third, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter! This is slow burn swan queen, and by slow burn, I mean slower than burning wood that was just in a thunderstorm kind of slow burn. But, I can promise a happy ending for both of our lovely ladies, after some angst, magical fights, drama, more angst, and conflicted feelings.**

 **Feel free to review, they are much appreciated, and I'm quite curious about your opinions on the story thus far.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's note: I was pleasantly surprised by the reaction from you all on the first chapter of this! It made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Anyways, here's chapter two. A warning for a (Rather brutal) character death in this chapter.**

* * *

"Okay...So...The situation doesn't look too good" Emma said to Mary Margaret and David, as she still preferred to call them. Two years later, and she still wasn't fond of thinking about the fact that she was the daughter of Snow White and Prince Charming. Of course, she didn't think that she would ever be able to wrap her head around her twisted family tree of fairy tale characters.

"And Regina was doing so well" Mary Margaret said, a sad, almost wistful tone in her voice.

"Yeah, well, this definitely isn't fully Regina anymore. It's like...a Regina-Gold hybrid" Emma said, with a shudder. Thankful that at least the former queen didn't have scaly skin, and actually looked like herself. Her extremely hot self, if Emma was being fully honest.

Umm...Emma" Henry yelled from the other room. "You've got to see this.

Emma walked into the other room, to see an inferno blazing on in the building across the street. "Shi-I mean crap. I am like 80% sure that is not supposed to be on fire" Emma said, trying to figure out how to fix the situation, seeing as she doubted that it would fix itself, and she had no clue where the fire department was, or if it even did anything now, for that matter.

"Seriously Emma? You really think that there's a good reason for a building being on fire" Henry asked, raising his eyebrow at her, in a distinctly Regina manner, acting as another sign of the fact that she wasn't the one who raised him.

"Well, you never know. It could be old and unstable. Or the people who lived there could be...Fairytale demolition specialists? Are those a thing" Emma asked, trying for playful banter with Henry, while she figured out what to do about the fire. If Regina, who probably caused this, wasn't the dark one, she'd ask her, but that wasn't really an option at the moment, much less a good one.

"No. There were no demolitionists in the Enchanted Forest. If you wanted to remodel, you just made an evil sorceress mad and they burned it down" Henry said with a grin, clearly joking.

"Hahaha. You're hilarious" Emma said, rolling her eyes. "Seriously though. What do we do about this fire? Where's the fire department? Does Storybrooke even have a fire department" Emma asked, walking back and forth

"Yeah. Andrew is the head of it" Henry said matter-of-fact like.

"And...Who was Andrew in Fairy Tale Land" Emma asked him, not wanting to risk calling the fire department, and having them throw more matches on the flame.

"He was King Ancilotto" Henry said, like it was obvious.

"King Ancil- What now" Emma said, confused.

"King Ancilloto. You've never read about him" Henry said, once again raising an eyebrow at her.

Yep. Definitely Regina's kid.

"Okay, we don't have time for this. Is he a good guy" Emma asked him, wanting to be done with the nonsense for now, she decided.

"Yes. He's a bit stupid though" Henry said, wrinkling his nose in disgust.

"Well, we'll worry about that later" Emma said, phoning the fire department. "Okay Henry, I'm going to check out the scene as well. Can you stay here and help Mary Margaret and David with the baby?"

"Yeah. I guess. Just be careful, okay" Henry told her.

"I will. Relax. I've got this covered" Emma said, before walking briskly out of the loft, having already wasted far too much time.

She ran across the street, and, thankfully, saw the firefighters putting out the fire already.

"Glad to see you've got everything under control" Emma said when she saw them at work. Thankful not to have to do anything else to fix the situation.

"Yes Princess Emma. The fire is being extinguished as we speak" said the man, who she assumed was Andrew, with a low bow.

"Let's just stick with Emma, Okay" Emma said, feeling uncomfortable with any titles besides, 'Miss' or 'Sheriff.'

"Okay, anyways, the fire is under control. No one was in the building at the time. There was no sign of magic, or matches being used" Andrew said, uncomfortable with the lack of formality.

"So, what caused it" Emma asked him, figuring that he, being a fire fighter, would know.

"We have no clue. It could possibly be the weather or-" Andrew said, about to continue, before being interrupted, by some familiar dark tones.

"Or me' Regina said with an insane cackle. Ever since the curse broke, Emma had been beginning to doubt the mayor's sanity a bit.

"I thought you said that magic didn't cause the fire" Emma said, shooting Andrew a glare, causing him to look away nervously. Emma sighed. She'd deal with him and his incompetence later, right now she had something bigger to worry about. An evil queen turned dark one who made anyone else in town look like a puppy by comparison.

"Oh, don't be mad at him dear. The old fool can barely tell left from right" Regina said, a malicious glint in her eyes. The corners of her lips curving up like a smile. This was going to be fun.

"T-that's not true! I was king for years, I know what I'm doing" he said, still nervous and weak, but hating being criticized in any way. Of course, going against Regina like that, maybe he actually was that idiotic.

"You didn't realize that your mother switched your children with puppies. _Puppies"_ Regina said with an eye roll.

Right before snapping his neck with a casual flick of her hand. Her eyes lit up with delight, and the smile on her face grew even larger and wider. She laughed again when she saw Emma pointing a gun at her.

Another casual wave of her hand, and the gun was gone.

"Are you kidding me Regina. Did you really have to kill him" Emma said, angrily. If Regina was going to act like this, then something would have to be done about her. And she would have to be the one to do it.

"I felt like it" she said with a shrug. "Besides, the idiot was standing between me and something I want, and I couldn't just let him get away with such an insult, could I?"

"You're a monster" Emma hissed at her, hoping to have an effect of some sort. Regina just looked at her unblinkingly. Like she didn't give a damn.

"There are a lot of monsters in this world, Princess" Regina said, enjoying the scowl that appeared on Emma's face when she used the word, "I just happen to be one of them."

And then she disappeared. With the house still an inferno, and the other fire fighters too shocked to continue working.

Emma observed the man. He was no longer breathing, and though he looked normal, other than the awkward position of his neck at first, when she looked to the side, she gasped. His skin had snapped as well, revealing the inside of his neck. It had turned black as a result of the magic, and there was blood gushing from it.

He was most certainly dead. Killed by the mere wave of a hand. As if it was nothing. Which scared Emma, because if this was what Regina could now do with no effort, what could she do with it?

* * *

Regina had plans. Very, large ones in fact. Killing that idiotic king had only been the tip of the iceberg. She had much, much worse in store for Storybrooke, and she was going to enjoy every minute of it. But first, she had to find something important. Otherwise, she was doomed. Being the Dark One meant many things, but there was one price. She could now be controlled. If someone used the dagger, she was now unable to resist it, and any attempt would be extremely painful for her.

And she did not like to be restrained.

Being controlled, being limited in any way, was what she loathed the most. And complete and total loss of control? She would rather die. Of course she might if someone got the dagger, which was now the only thing in all the realms with the power to kill her.

She was practically invincible. And she loved it. The bloodlust that had never truly died within her, only taking a little nap, was awake, with more of a desire for death and destruction than ever before.

But first she had to get the dagger. It was that simple. Get the dagger, and nothing in all the realms could stop her.

Get the dagger and she would finally be free.

It looked like she'd be paying Rumple a visit.

* * *

 **I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next up, Regina pays Rumple a visit, looking for the dagger.**


	3. Chapter 3

Regina walked into the pawn shop, an air of confidence surrounding her. Suddenly, the dark one in her sensed someone behind her. Belle.

"Oh, hello dear. Does your precious boyfriend have time to talk" Regina said, her voice sickly sweet, poisonous with no venom needed for damage to be done. The fake niceties were only for fun. Not truly necessary. Nothing was truly necessary. Not now. Not when she had all the power.

"You leave Rumple alone" she yelled, trying to act fearless, even when Regina could feel the fear radiating from her in waves. It was so...Intoxicating. Feeling how unsure the woman who claimed that bravery was something besides stupidity felt in her presence. She could see it though. She could see the fear creeping through her veins and into her heart. She could sense the woman's every muscle tensing up in anticipation of the blows that may or may not come. And she loved it. It made her want to laugh, but not now. Later. There would be plenty of time for that later.

"I will. If you tell me where the dagger is" Regina said. And when Belle realized what it was that Regina wanted, she started to move, presumably to grab the dagger. Before, Regina wouldn't have had enough instinct to do what she did. But now, with the power of the Dark One coursing through her veins, she had all that power and more. She froze Belle in place, unable to move.

When Belle struggled she really did laugh. This was far too entertaining to watch.

"I guess it'll be up to your precious Rumple after all. Unless you're up to sharing" Regina said with a crazed, demented smile. This was easy. Far too easy. It was like playing chess against herself. With the winner already known, every single time.

"I-I'll tell you! Just please don't hurt him" Belle begged her, starting to break down. It was so sweet and precious that she was almost able to bring herself to care. But only almost.

"I like it when you beg. Do it again" Regina said, her smile and tone becoming more predatory, as if she was a lioness stalking her prey, ready to pounce at any given second.

"P-please don't hurt Rumple" Belle said, trying, but failing to remain stoic. For a minute, Regina was shocked. How could she have ever turned into someone who worked with, and even obeyed, people like that. She was very nearly sickened with herself.

"Very well. I won't. This time anyways. If you tell me where the dagger is right now, I will spare both of you, because I'm feeling particularly generous today" Regina said, her voice practically a purr. This was so easy. So, so easy. They did more than love her. They feared her. In another world, without the knowledge that she had now, she would have said love is inferior to fear. But that woman was wrong. Fear, when utilized properly, was stronger than love. It was the fact that only she could utilize it properly that made it worth less than love to the old her.

"It's in the back...There's a secret room, behind the bookshelf. It's in there" Belle said, while sobbing.

The dark one wanted to kill Belle, for having even thought about touching the dagger, but Regina knew better. It could be a lie. Even when their life, and the lives of all their loved ones were hanging by a thread, even when they saw the scissors right in front of them, heroes had the tendency to lie anyways. It was ridiculous, but it would be best to check anyways. Just in case.

Regina strutted into the back room, flinging the bookshelf across the room with an errant wave of her hand. Sure enough, there was a secret room. It was small, and Regina wondered how she didn't know about it when she was the one who had built the entire building in the first place. Trust Rumple to have found a way, even while cursed and under her control.

Only, now he had no power. It was all hers now, and she relished in it. She relished in the strength that used to scare her, and keep her up for hours, trying to find a weakness. Only, now she was the one with all the power, and her only weakness was supposedly sitting in a box in front of her. She stepped forward, and carefully opened it. The beauty was telling the truth. Inside the box was the dagger, which bore her name in jagged and twisty letters magically engraved into it. Regina.

She had been called the dark queen before, it was one of many titles she held at the height of her reign. But now, she was more than just the Dark One, and more than just a queen. She was both. She really was the Dark Queen. And from this day forward, she would make sure people would respect her change in epithets.

She left the shop, strutting even more now than she was before, her dagger safely in her possession.

Safe. Now, she truly was invincible. Nothing would ever hurt her, or those that she loved, ever again.

Which meant that she was safe. And that she was the one in control.

She only wondered for a second if it was her or the Dark One actually in control.

* * *

When it came to hiding the dagger, Regina wasn't sure where it should go. Not her vault. While it was, undoubtedly, the safest place for it at first glance, that was exactly the problem. Everyone knew that was where the majority of her secrets resided. It would be the first place they looked. No…She needed a different place. Somewhere they would never think to look.

The Dark One was telling her to pull a hook and magically replace her hand with the dagger. She decided to pass on this particular bit of advice, and continued to look for a place. Her room was also too obvious. And while it might be a good idea, she decided to pass on hiding it with the knives in the kitchen. And while she could simply hide it somewhere random in the ground, that wouldn't be special enough. No, she needed someplace with meaning. Someplace that no one would think to look, but that would make perfect sense if they thought about it.

Then, she came up with an idea for a place they would never suspect. Even the dark one was perking up at it.

How to do it was the real question.

* * *

 **Okay, so, first I'd like to reply to a few guest reviewers from the second chapter. Honestly, I was going to do the ones from the first chapter as well, but I completely spaced on it, so sorry!**

 **Guest: I disagree. Thank you for your feedback, but consider how much violence they have between each other on the show. Besides, as I've already stated, it's going to be slow burn.**

 **Ludka: Thank you for your review, I'm sorry that I disappointed you with the second chapter. And, you're right. It is totally contradictory, and no logical person would do it. However, she isn't really all that logical right now. She has two different minds swirling around in her head, one telling her to be logical, and the other completely and totally devoted to causing mayhem, screw anything that Regina herself wants to accomplish. The latter mind is primarily in control at the moment, and it sees snapping necks and torching buildings as laying low. Because that's just how it works. (And yes, part of it is my desire for cheap drama, because I'm addicted to it.) And this chapter answers the Rumple in a Coma question. Also, finally, I just want to thank you for being respectful even with your complaints. That's rare to see, and I really appreciate that.**

 **Moving on... This is the last chapter that I have ready, and I've been too sick to start writing chapter four, so the next update might be a bit later. Sorry guys!**


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